FirstHealth Home Care, which offers a variety of home health services in six mid-Carolinas counties, has for the second time received five stars in the patient experience of care star ratings released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Ratings are based on results from the Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) Survey, the first national standardized and publicly reported survey of skilled home care based on the personal patient perspective. As the highest rating, the five-star designation reflects the best patient experience.

According to Patty Upham, director of FirstHealth Home Care, the publicly reported survey helps patients and their families make better informed decisions about home health care services while encouraging home health care professionals to strive for the highest quality in the patient care experience.

”Our staff focuses on providing high-quality care that puts our patients first,” she says, “and the comments and letters we get from patients and their caregivers confirm the success of that patient-centered focus. This five-star rating confirms our commitment to provide excellent care and a high-quality patient experience.”

The FirstHealth Home Care services offered in Moore, Richmond, Hoke, Scotland, Lee and Montgomery counties include skilled nursing, physical and occupational therapy, social work and home health aide assistance.

The 34 items on the HHCAHPS Survey questionnaire are designed to measure patients’ perceptions of their skilled home care. The 25 “core questions” and nine “about you” questions cover such topics as communication about care, pain, prescription medicine use and the care received from the home health agency.

The survey was nationally implemented in 2009, and survey results have been publicly reported since 2012. Star ratings have been assigned since 2015.

HHCAHPS results are posted on www.medicare.gov on Home Health Compare. For more information on FirstHealth Home Care, visit www.firsthealth.org/homecare.